


Prelude to misery

by Laylaisthename



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Gen, Pre-Inquisition, The Fade
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-21 02:28:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10675794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laylaisthename/pseuds/Laylaisthename
Summary: The conclave was a big important event that, at least according to Tully, required the Valo-Kas' best. And there were few better than the sisters Adaar. So now they stood in the temple of Sacred Ashes, surrounded by bickering mages, templars and chantry clerics as vigilant watchers. But even their best would not be ready for what lies beyond closed doors.





	Prelude to misery

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of the same universe as everything else in this series; pretty much my "canon away from canon"

Prelude to misery

By the gods, this might be the most boring job they've ever had. The constant squabbling of the mages and the templars and the chantry was maddening, and seemed to be going nowhere. Anything the mages demanded was cast aside by the templars, and any restraints presented by the templars was overthrown by the mages. The chantry clerics and mothers would discuss the presented ideas among themselves and some chantry-higher up usually agreed that both sides had a point. Maybe boring wasn't the right word, Hera mused to herself. Annoying or pointless fit better. Perhaps both.

Hera knew that if she relayed this to her sister she would disagree, and say that one assignment in Amaranthine was worse. They were guarding a quarry all week, much to Juno's dismay. Aside from the passing remark from the miners about "never seeing any ox-men this far south" little had happened. And even that conversation was short lived. Two miners were arguing about the use of "ox-women" instead of "ox-men" until Juno, who was not too thrilled about the name calling, answered that they weren't ox-men but axe-men who would gladly abide by that name if the miners kept being racist bastards. This joke earned a genuine groan from Hera and a cut to their pay from their employer, saying that he would not tolerate them threatening his workers. Hera was more than glad to receive gold for doing absolutely nothing all day, but Juno swore she would rather set herself on fire than stare at rocks for ten hours again. Hera also knew that Juno cared about these "pointless" issues. The mercenary sword at her sister's side was just for show. Would anything -gods forbid- happen, the duo would not hold back; Hera armed with the great sword on her back, and her younger sister Juno, not far behind, slinging all kinds of magics at whoever dared stand in their way. Her sister pride herself in knowing. That was the best way to describe her, Hera found. But herself? She knew through doing. So, any time Juno tried to explain how her magic worked, she would lose her at the exact same point. The idea of the beyond; the fade, a world of spirits and dreams, parallel to their own, in a way intertwined with everything around them. Juno explained; "We tell the fade what is even if it isn't supposed to be." That time at the quarry Hera told her that it made no sense, and with a gleam in her eye Juno replied "And that's exactly it. Magic takes reality and changes it. It doesn't have to make sense." Just trying to figure it out gave Hera a headache, which did not help with the boredom.

And so, trouble came calling.

Hera swore she heard something beyond the doors behind her. And, after a moment of silence, heard something again. It was very hard to make out over the talking, but taken by curiosity Hera decided to investigate. Everyone was supposed to be in this hall and as far as they were briefed, no one was back there, not even the Divine's personal guard. Even after a decade, parts of the temple were still being restored, and the seeker that hired them made it very clear that no one was to enter any of the side rooms. Hera nudges her sister in the side and leans in; "June, I'm going to check something out." Juno gives her a nod and steps aside to cover the door as Hera, as silently as a 7ft woman could, slipped through.

Hera turned to close the door, whatever warmth there was in this temple disappearing behind it. The mercenary coat was warm enough inside with the others, but did little to protect her from the biting cold air in these hallways. Opposed to the -probably magically- warmed halls they were received in; this part of the temple was as chill as it was outside. Then she saw a small pile of snow gathered under a poorly-fixed hole in the ceiling and decided she may as well _be_ outside. Hera looked around trying to determine where the sound could be coming from, but was met with icy silence. It was a long hallway, lined with many doors and even more statues, that curved off at the end. One by one Hera opened them to peek inside. Mostly she was met with empty rooms, cleared of rubble and ice, but the further she went along the more untouched ruin she found. A cleric had told her that about a decade ago this place was covered in snow and ice, little more than a ruin of rubble infested with cultists and dragons. Hearing of whatever horrors lived here was the most interesting thing she’d heard since arriving here. Allegedly there’d been a high dragon here too, whose carcass still lay further up the temple. Any hired mercenaries were, unfortunately, not allowed to roam around.

Again, she heard someone calling. What they were saying and where it came from was unsure, but now, not muffled by the arguing and thick wooden doors, it was unmistakably someone calling. Hera pressed forward, determined to find out what was happening and maybe hoping that this happening was a drake, still hidden in the ruins, she could kill as an excuse to get paid extra for this whole ordeal. Or maybe thieves looking to steal priceless religious items, which they then would share whatever loot they'd found after she scared them into believing she'd crush their heads with her bare hands if they didn't run off.

And as she passed from door to door checking for trouble Hera imagined countless other scenarios that would make this week a bit exciting. And yet, even after she found a way and reason there would be a giant waiting somewhere for her, Hera found that whatever she imagined didn't ever come close to resemble the tapestry she found beyond the door.

As she approached the end of the hallway Hera heard the door far behind her open. She turned back to see her sister had followed her inside, no doubt wondering what took her this long. But before Juno reached her, Hera heard a voice, loud and clear, calling from behind the double doors just ahead; "Someone, help me!" Without a second thought Hera drew her blade and rushed in, nearly knowing the door off its hinges. And there the nightmare began. A group of Wardens, identified by their blue and silverite armor, surrounding what looked to be some chantry Mother upheld by magic. And behind them all a distorted figure, a good two feet taller than Hera herself, his face pulled apart by what she could only guess to be drakestone. "What's going on here?!" She yelled, equal parts confused and angry. The figure ominously nearing the Mother with a glowing green orb seemed somewhat taken aback by the intrusion but quickly went back to being big and scary as he called for her removal; "Kill the Qunari." The Mother used this moment of chaos to swat aside the odd green ball, knocking out of the being's hand. Hera let one of her hands go of her weapon to grasp at the object, and in the same moment she touched it knew, without a doubt in her stupid, impulsive mind, that this had been the worst decision of her probably fleeting life. 

***

By now Juno fell in behind her sister, hands crackling with lightning but quickly faltering as she too witnesses the scene before her. A woman, unmistakably Divine Justinia V herself, caged by the Grey Wardens of all people. A strange, un-dead like figure rushing towards her sister as she drops her sword and screams out in pain. The sound of the two-handed sword falling to the stone in drowned out by two voices; the creature, distressed called out "No!" and Juno herself, screaming "Hera!" as she ran towards her. The strange artifact lifted her, shining and bursting with unknown magic that Juno couldn't even try to comprehend, which, just as she reached her sister, blew up.

*

Juno awoke lying face first on a hard, rocky surface that, after a short inspection was the wet ground. Strangely enough this wet ground didn't feel as wet as it should be. Just like the air wasn't as, well, air-y and the light never quite right. As she took in more of the environment, Juno had a growing suspicion that she was in the fade. This meant one of two things: She was asleep and dreaming, hopefully in a warm soft bed somewhere safe. Or, and this was the less ideal option, she'd died and was now a spirit trapped in the fade. The answer lay in what had happened before... this, but Juno could not remember what that was no matter how hard she tried. It wasn't a case of "the harder she tried the further it slipped away". This was more akin to waking up the morning after having been black-out drunk: the memory just wasn't there.

Juno stood up and gave herself a moment to reorient. She took a deep breath in, then out, closed her eyes and willed herself to wake up. When she opened them up again, she looked around and up, met with floating islands and rocks and above it all the anchoring Black City, always there holding vigil over it's never ending, green glowing domain. She let out a sigh; usually this trick worked, so Juno could scrap sound asleep off her list.

As she was pondering what to do next, an all too familiar voice spoke; "Hello." Juno couldn’t turn around fast enough. Unable to stop herself from smiling she faces her sister, a mixed feeling of happiness, relief and a pang of guilt overwhelming her. Hera didn’t look worse for wear, absentmindedly smiling at Juno. Everything in her mind was telling her to not trust this, that Hera shouldn’t be alive, even if she didn’t remember why.

And when she moved in to hug her sister, Juno started to notice the oddities. For starters; Hera wasn't wearing the green outfit all 'hired help' was asked to wear during the conclave. Instead she was clad in clothing that fit right in back home in Rivain. 'Hera' also seemed completely fine with the situation. If there was one thing she knew it was that her sister would _not_ be fine with this situation. Her eyes weren’t the right shade of grey. And so, bit by bit more details fell out of place, causing a bit of an awkward silence between the two.  
"Hello." The spirit repeated.  
"Hail and well met." Juno replied, feeling her heart sink a little.  
"You seem troubled." The spirit said, its borrowed face turning to match the concern in its voice.  
"I am." Juno said. "I find myself to be lost."  
"Do not despair. I will help you." The spirit said, concern turning to resolve. "Have hope." The spirit turned away from Juno and soundlessly walked off. "This way." It said.  
Not seeing any alternatives, she set off after it.

*

Juno and the spirit silently walked for what felt like hours, though she realized it could have been anything between an actual hour or maybe even just minutes in the waking world.

In that time, she decided upon one of two things; one, she was put to sleep magically and maybe held in a demon's domain. It would explain why she couldn't wake up, but made her wonder why nothing was trying to keep her here. The spirit wasn't exactly convincing her to stay.  
Two, she had died, and was now also spirit, aimlessly floating after something to guide her to whatever afterlife was awaiting her. That would explain why she wouldn't wake up and probably explain the shining portal she spots some time back. The spirit had said that home would be through there. Juno hated to admit that it was working, but having some semblance of her sister here was... reassuring. Even when knowing that it wasn't _really_ her, it was enough for now.

The two of them approached the portal. It was like a lighthouse, she thought to herself, guiding ships into the docks after long travels. And it seemed she wasn't the only boat looking for safe harbor. The closer she came to the gateway the more spirits she met with. The first one wasn't too big or bright, barely the size of a wisp. The spirit vanished as soon as it saw her. The second did too. The third spirit stayed a little longer, but also disappeared once Juno got too close. For now she ignored them, but with every step towards the gate, the spirits dared a little more and came a bit closer. At the foot of the stairway leading up to the shining portal she could see a small gathering of wisps and spirits and even what seemed to be a greater spirit, standing over something. The ‘Hera’ had disappeared from her side to join their little gathering.

Juno looked up at the portal, back to the circle of spirits and hesitated for a moment. Home was beyond there -if what the spirit told her was true- and she had no way of knowing how long it would stay up there. It may be the only way of waking up, or passing on, or whatever it took to move on from the fade. Curiosity took the better of her.

Juno jogged over to the bunch, thinking to herself that it would be a quick look and go. No need to linger around, no time to waste. And what, or rather who, she found was worth lingering a thousand years. Lying there, clad in that green mercenary outfit, unconscious, bloodied and scratched, was Hera. Spirits faded out of her way as Juno couldn’t make her way over to her sister’s side fast enough. She took a grasp of Hera’s shoulders and shook them lightly, calling her name, but got no response. The shaking grew a little more violent and by the third time she was shouting “Hera!”, an odd feeling of déjà vu washing over her as she -once again- called out for her sister.

Juno feared the worst, but instead of panicking entirely, took a moment, brief as it was, to center herself. Eyes closed, a breath in and back out and when she opened them again forced herself to push through. The first thing she noticed was biggest relief; Hera was still breathing. Her breaths were shallow and silent, but she was alive, nonetheless. Any wounds Hera sustained falling here weren’t too severe. Mostly scratches and bruises from falling to the ground. One of her horn pieces had fallen off somewhere, revealing the chipped horn underneath, but a quick look around was enough to find it for safe keeping until Hera woke up again. Juno grasped it, the cool metal feeling more _real_ than anything here had so far against her fingers.

Behind her a sharp breath escaped her sister, accompanied by a crackling noise Juno first mistook for lightning. She looked back at Hera and found that her left hand was bursting with green magic Juno swore she’d seen before this. But before getting the chance to take a closer look Juno heard something else. A ‘thud’ like sound, she recognized as a body hitting the stone, came from the way she’d came. It was far off, but she was certain of what she heard. And then another ‘thud’. And another. Until the sound had quickly caught up with her.

A mass of bodies, bloodied, hollow and bleak, crawled towards her. Her heart sank to her stomach as she started recognizing faces through the crowd. Nameless raiders, felled beasts and a ship’s-worth of innocents. Friends and people she considered family. And behind them all a face that looked much too much like her own for her liking. Every death she was responsible for had come to claim her life. And whether this was real or not, Juno did not want to find out.

She grabbed her sister again, pulling at the hands full of cloth she grasped, and with a lot of whispers of “C’mon.” and “Help me out here.” did not get far. As this wave of death approached her, Juno finally started to panic. Her heart was pounding, blood drumming in her ears as every inch of her body told her to run, run and don’t look back. She pulled with all her might, tears welling in her eyes thinking _‘this is not how I wanted to die. This is not how she should die.’_ Until finally a whimper came out, voice broken into the unhearing void; “I am not strong enough.”

“I believe you are, Junebug.” Hera said. Juno looked up to see that it wasn’t actually her sister, who still lay unconscious in her arms, but rather the spirit still wearing Hera’s face.

“Help me.” Juno said, looking at the ghost through teared eyes. And the spirit nodded, understanding her request. It grabbed her hand, disappearing into Juno with much less revelry than expected. “Have hope.” It said.

Juno always imagined possession would be much more violent. It would hurt and burn and make her lose any individuality she had. Then again, most times she imagined possession it was forceful and malevolent. Rage, Pride and Fear would turn her into an uncontrollable monster

This was nothing like she imagined. For a moment, just the briefest of seconds, the world around her fell silent, washing away her fear and anxiety. And just as quickly it all came back again. The sea of death behind her, the gate home still shining brightly at the end of the stairs. And this time she knew what to do. With newfound strength and resolve she lifts her sister up off the ground, still a little too heavy and still whining every time the magic in her hand flared. She hears the spirit whisper in the back of her mind. _“Go.”_  And without hesitation Juno starts running toward the portal.

She ran up the steep stairs two steps at a time, ignoring her carelessness because of the hungering corpses close behind her. Even with the spirit helping her, Juno started slowing down. Adrenaline was making way for exhaustion which in turn almost caused her to slip and through sheer luck alone did she make it up to the top. By now Juno’s muscles were straining under her sister’s weight, her breath ragged and vision blurring. She stumbled forward toward the gate, tripping over her own feet. And if it wasn’t for the mysteriously glowing woman that reached out, she probably wouldn’t have made it through.

Stepping through the light was a lot like coming up out of the water. Unseen pressure disappears and her first real breath is deep, ragged and cold as death. Juno’s muscles finally give way and with a loud ‘thud’ -that sounded too much like the corpses did- Hera falls from her arms to the ground. Juno herself doesn’t stand upright for long either, as her legs too buckle under her own weight and fatigue. She catches a glimpse of the smoldering ruins around her, right before she falls unconscious again.

 _____

 

**Author's Note:**

> May make a second chapter. Sometime. Until then, feedback -on this work and others- is always appreciated. My writing isn't all that great, I may make mistakes in the lore, and hoo boy do I love my comma's. And if you notice anything particularly annoying I'd love to hear about it.  
> ___  
> Forgot to add the pic of Juno and Hera. Hera is the top row, Juno the bottom.


End file.
